Best Off-Road Truck

Hi everyone! I was just wondering what truck you all think is best for general all around off-roading, like mudding, trail riding :biggrin: or just driving on the beach. I'm talking stock, or very near stock. I'm looking to get into off-roading and just wanted a few opinions. Right now I'm looking mostly at Bronco's of the late 90's. Thanks alot, Bobby

1969 to 1991 Chevrolet Blazer (Full size, not S-10). Surf www.coloradok5.com too see what the K5's are all about.

I really like the Jeep Wranglers and the K5 Blazers like Z3PR said. Both of them have a short wheel base for tight turns on trails and both have a good power to weight ratio. If you want to do any serious mudding though I suggest you don't leave either of these or a late 90's Bronco near stock unless you have some friends with huge trucks because they will get stuck without bigger mud tires and lockers.
I have a friend that has an '85 K5 Blazer with 35in TSL's and lockers front and rear. He has some mild engine mods and of course exhaust and he gets stuck on a regular basis and we end of having to get a big ass farm tractor or a combine to get him out. If all you plan on doing is trails something near stock will work just fine, but for mudding you need some real power and a way to get all that power to the ground.

chevrolet's z71, perfect

What you want is the 1996 - 2004 Toyota Tacoma with manual locking hubs and a rear locker if available. Some TRD packages come with rear locker.

I am partial but I have had excellent luck with my Tacoma. It is a 1996 and now has 257,000 miles on it. I wheel it on all types of surfaces from rock to deep mud without any problems. It was excellent when it was stock but now that I have added a 3" suspension lift and a 2" body lift along with a rear locker, it will run most trails up to but NOT including a 6 diamond rating. I probably could run tougher trails but I do like to keep the rubber side down.

Check out these links:

http://www.fourwheeler.com/roadtests/16558/index.html

http://www.cottora.com/cottora/home.html

http://www.sounddomain.com/memberpage/289957/6

This is my off-road club's website, I have the white Tacoma. Check it out:
http://www.dfw-tx4wd.org/

dodge ram can't go wrong with mopar

dodge ram sucks for OR, but i have heard a lot of luck with the tacoma, but you would need to mod for ground clearance and things. THe K5 also a very good choice.

dodge ram sucks for OR

Depends on the off roading you plan on doing. For trails they blow, but for mudding out in corn/bean fields to can't really ask for much more. They come with enough clearance from the factory for 33 inch tires I do believe. Also the new Power Wagon come with 33 inch tires, locking front and rear diffs. and a winch from the factory...plus it won the Fourwheeler of the Year Award.

dodge mopar all the way easy to up grade and plenty of power or even if you can find a dodge power wagon it'll serve you well

I think it is kinda funny that a stock 4wd F-250 has more ground clearance than a stock Power wagon. If your talkin about the newer power wagon from dodge off of the 2500 ram.

I think it is kinda funny that a stock 4wd F-250 has more ground clearance than a stock Power wagon. If your talkin about the newer power wagon from dodge off of the 2500 ram.

That's the one I was talking about, but what's so funny about a stock F-250 having more ground clearance than the Power Wagon. The F-250 got last place in Four Wheeler's '05 Pick-up of the year. The F-250 was made for pulling/towing, not for off-roading like the Power Wagon.

*edit* The F-250 only beats the Power Wagon by .2 inches in the ground clearance category.

What you want is the 1996 - 2004 Toyota Tacoma with manual locking hubs and a rear locker if available. Some TRD packages come with rear locker.

I am partial but I have had excellent luck with my Tacoma. It is a 1996 and now has 257,000 miles on it. I wheel it on all types of surfaces from rock to deep mud without any problems. It was excellent when it was stock but now that I have added a 3" suspension lift and a 2" body lift along with a rear locker, it will run most trails up to but NOT including a 6 diamond rating. I probably could run tougher trails but I do like to keep the rubber side down.

Check out these links:

http://www.fourwheeler.com/roadtests/16558/index.html

http://www.cottora.com/cottora/home.html

http://www.sounddomain.com/memberpage/289957/6

This is my off-road club's website, I have the white Tacoma. Check it out:
http://www.dfw-tx4wd.org/

^ what he said, Toyotas are the top of the line for offroading

Find an old Army Hummer for like 10 grand lol

or get a Blazer. They are pretty good.

Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Chevy Trailblazer

infiniti G35x (XD get it? cause it has AWD LOL)

I'm such a jokster

For stock get a Jeep Rubicon or any truck with a solid front axle, IFS sucks, it breaks and has less aftermarket parts to beef em up.

For stock get a Jeep Rubicon or any truck with a solid front axle, IFS sucks, it breaks and has less aftermarket parts to beef em up.

I agree with you for the most part and a lot on the Rubicon those things are beasts. But IFS does offer better ground clearance.

Find an old Army Hummer for like 10 grand lol

or get a Blazer. They are pretty good.

Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Chevy Trailblazer

infiniti G35x (XD get it? cause it has AWD LOL)

I'm such a jokster


You wouldn't happen to know of a place that sells old Army Hummers would you??? Also Trailblazers aren't exactly in the same class as the Jeep Grand Cherokee for off-roading.

jeeps = breakdowns........

lol We took ours Off the road once. It went through 2 feet of water, we went up this hill coverd in rocks. i thought it handld pretty good lol

Oh yeah, I dont know any places that sells old Army Hummers.

Check Ebay or look for them around the net.

jeeps = breakdowns........

Depends on the Jeep really. My dad's friend has an '04 Grand Cherokee since fall of '03 and hasn't had any problems yet. This girl I know from school has a '99 Jeep Wrangler X with no problems. Also my friend's dad has a late '80's Cherokee and the only thing he's ever had a problem with is the clutch and that goes out ever couple years, but they hardly drive it at all anymore.

I see alot of breakdown jeeps. One did it in our culdisake once

That might be but what you should look at are Consumer Report type of things...just because you see a few broken down doesn't mean that Jeep reliability is in question. I've seen a lot of broken down Hondas and Toyotas, but that's most likely because there's so many.

Well, jeeps arent as bad as Fiats and jaguars lol

In my opinion you can't beat a K5. I had a Full size Jimmy with lockers front and rear with 33's and there was not much that it would not go through.

In my opinion you can't beat a K5. I had a Full size Jimmy with lockers front and rear with 33's and there was not much that it would not go through.

I agree completely, perfect size, wieght, power, etc. for just about anything.

I too would have to say K5 Blazer. I have a 3/4 ton Silverado, and it does great completely stock. I've pulled some lifted toyotas and nissans out of deep mud, then go through myself only to see them try again and get stuck once more. The K5 Blazer is pretty much the same as my truck, just shorter which makes a BIG difference on trails. If you end up getting something other than a K5, buy anything but an import. They do ok... but they break a lot more than beefy American made trucks. After all, you don't get good gas mileage by having lots of steel on it.

id say early model bronco if they werent so damned expensive, toyotas are nice, k5's an broncos are great for it. the truck i reall want is the new ranger with the fx4 stage 2, friends has one and thing is great off road.

I would like to add a Jeep Wrangler to my recomendation. I have a buddy with one, all he has is a 2" "budget boost" and 31x10.5 tires. He's probably spent less than $800 for the lift, tires, and rims; and it will go just anywhere a K5 will go. It's lower up top, and narrower, so it will fit through tighter trails. Although, in a big truck you can push trees a couple inches out of the way :-D

For trails/sand I would definitely go with Toyota Tacoma TRD with rear locker, however for mud slinging...you need power...Chevy Z71.

I would like to add a Jeep Wrangler to my recomendation. I have a buddy with one, all he has is a 2" "budget boost" and 31x10.5 tires. He's probably spent less than $800 for the lift, tires, and rims; and it will go just anywhere a K5 will go. It's lower up top, and narrower, so it will fit through tighter trails. Although, in a big truck you can push trees a couple inches out of the way :-D

Yeah those Wranglers can really do well. They probably have the same power to weight ratio as a K5 too.

Yeah those Wranglers can really do well. They probably have the same power to weight ratio as a K5 too.

I think the 6 cylinder Wranglers have more power to weight, the Wranglers are pretty light compared to the K5s, and the newer 6 cylinder engines have more horsepower than the old V8 engines, but the V8s have more torque. Really, anything with 4x4 low has plenty of power. I've never seen anyone who couldn't spin the tires in 4x4 low.

Im on a $4000 dollar budget so i was wondering how an s-10 or a ford ranger would do with suspesion and tire upgrades under light offroading conditions, mostly trails. I would be looking at v6 mainly and it would be 4wd.

Ford Ranger would be real nice. Personally, i'd go with a 2door cherokee.

Im on a $4000 dollar budget so i was wondering how an s-10 or a ford ranger would do with suspesion and tire upgrades under light offroading conditions, mostly trails. I would be looking at v6 mainly and it would be 4wd.

I would go with the S-10. There's a lot of upgrades for them and well...I'm a little biased against Ford. I've just never had a good experience with them. Just my opinion though.

for 4 grand id get an older 4runner (late 80's with removeable hardtop, friend had an 88, lots of fun) but try to get the v6 or if u can find one that had a 350 swapped in cause those things are extremely gutless.

I HATE Chevy, but I have a little S-10 Blazer with a 2.8L, auto and that thing goes anywhere, and through anything where I live. What a mountian goat

I don't think that it has enough power to do serius mudding though. Good thing that I live in the semi-desert

My 4.3L s-10 has yet to leave me stranded, but all I have done is some mud. It has gotten me through mud roads that I thought i was gonna have to walk out...they were BAD. 4lo and up it went over one bad hill leaving 6" ruts.

I found the nicest steep solid mud hill last week 1 day after about a years worth of rain here in 1 week.
There was actually water still running down this hill and I thought, like you that I couldn't make it up. But I knew that I could always back down if I had to.

Well my little Blazer proved me wrong. With the posi rear end I hardly even spun a tire. Although I don't know how deep the ruts I left were.
I live in the mountians in BC Canada, so were not talking mole hills here

For trails/sand I would definitely go with Toyota Tacoma TRD with rear locker, however for mud slinging...you need power...Chevy Z71.


get the supercharged toyota tacoma. it will have just shy on 300 hp in a package 1500 lbs lighter then a chevy

Drew

How about the 2006 Hummer H1 Alpha?

check here

off-road beast (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=380572 )

for the money of an H! like that i could have a bad ass buggie built and still have the money to get a trailer and a nice tow rig. thebuggie would hand it to the hummer any day of the week off road also

Drew

I like the Heeps, the really old jeep wagoneers have stock dana 44's. But they look like crap. I was thinking about my next rig, and was pondering the Tahoe, or an old Blazer/Jimmy fullsize, 1960's. But I might go with a Grand Cherokee, and cusomize it with Dana 60 rear, 44 fronts with arb air/detroit lockers. Spring suspension. 350 engine. But the style I want is like the Avalanche, so I would chop the cargo area off to make it a truck bed.

I like the Heeps, the really old jeep wagoneers have stock dana 44's. But they look like crap. I was thinking about my next rig, and was pondering the Tahoe, or an old Blazer/Jimmy fullsize, 1960's. But I might go with a Grand Cherokee, and cusomize it with Dana 60 rear, 44 fronts with arb air/detroit lockers. Spring suspension. 350 engine. But the style I want is like the Avalanche, so I would chop the cargo area off to make it a truck bed.

dont do that the lack of a frame makes them poor choices for a wheeler espesially after they h ave been cut up

Drew

Jeep is the best way to go they were one of the originals. If you want the best stock performing offroad rig get a rubicon you dont have to lift it right away to do good on a trail. With a budget like that i would find an older cherokee, dont get a post 80 pre 96 wrangler terrible transmissions. Honestly wouldnt recomend a ranger or s10 unless you wanna get a new one evne then only a ranger. An International scout would be great but hard to find.

OK I gat to go with the toyota lightweight awsome traction good size tires standard, great aftermarket, long enough to be stable without having a bad breakover angle.

I've got a 99' ford exploder, what kind of work would I need to do to take it out mudding?

Ok, this is an old forum...however, I'm surprised nobody has mentioned like an old Land Rover...or an older Mercedes G-wagen...fully locked from factory (hydraulic locks operated from inside), with strong axels(front same as rear), fully syncronized transfer case (can switch from 2wd-4wd-4lo while you drive...all mechanical, no electronics!!!...only one ever made like that as far as I know), can fit 35's on a stock truck (minor inner fender trimming), gas with mechanical fuel injection (no problem on slopes, and no electronics) or diesel motors, built to military specs since it's a military vehicle (super strong frame). With very few exceptions, all controls are mechanical or hydraulic (VERY reliable...like your brakes!!!), fully sealed drive train, with vents located in high locations (good for water crossings), 4.88 gears (6.14 optional...REALLY low); actually total reduction in 4lo if you consider 1'st gear, torque converter, transfer case and diffs it's ~100:1.Comes in a short wheel base or long...depending on what you need...hell they even have a convertible (safary style). That's all FACTORY!!! you won't have to spent time and money doing frustrating upgrades, only to discover the next part in the drive train will give up because it's not strong enough. It's very comfortable as well, and the price will be above average, but in my opinion the best truck ever made.
And then if you want to talk ultimate 4x4 (that you can still drive on the street) ... well, I'm sorry, but forget all chevy, ford, land rover, toyota...or anything else for that matter. Just get a UNIMOG!!!
I understand some people might be upset because I said that but, DO THE RESEARCH, and if you want to shut me down bring me some facts, don't just say something else it's better "in your opinion" ;)

International Scout. They are inexpensive, and built heavy duty from the factory. I embarass jeeps all of the time in mine!!:evillol:

:cool:Hey guys. i know a lot about off roading. My friend has a 1969 Ford Bronco with a 2 inch lift. With all the lights it has about 2.5 million candle light. My dad and I often go along with them and we have 3 off roading trucks, Our main truck is a 2009 Ford F-250 Super duty wwith a 6 inch lift and a top light rack bumper light rack and a serch light. We also have a Dodge Ram 1500 with 42 inch no street legal rock climbver pack and our third is a empbaresment a 2003 Jeep Wrangler 4 inch lift light rack and a chevy 8 cylnder 250 horse engine..Any questions Send ,me a message :cool:

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